Dust of Us
by BrokenEmber
Summary: The past shapes you, carves you until you're left with the outline of who you thought you were. Perhaps it's what was intended to happen, to form your resolve and test your strength. After it's over, though, all that is left is dust. F!Shepard and Vakarian. This is the tale of their origins, spanning through all three games and perhaps even beyond. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Introduction

_Mindoir, 2170_

The sunlight shined over her long ebony hair. She was picking apples with her father. His bright eyes loomed gracefully, cautiously over the field and down the hill at their small house.

Her torn jeans and plain white shirt with an Alliance logo over it seemed to glow in the sun.

She was a Shepard. Her father fought in the Alliance when he was younger, but age had slowed him down and he was allowed a hefty retirement. He fought for thirty years, ran up the ranks, and was even offered the position of Commander. He had turned it down when he found out his wife, June, was pregnant. He didn't want to fly around in space with a pregnant wife.

Shepard looked at his daughter and smiled. She was long and lanky for a sixteen year old, her emerald eyes sparkling brighter than her mothers. She and her mother were exposed to element zero over two years ago, and both their biotic abilities had manifested.

Shepard had just been a soldier in the Alliance, using only a pistol and knife to kill enemies.

His daughter fumbled a little as she lifted her wrist, glowing with biotics to lift the basket of apples.

"Honey, start slowly. Start with one apple."

"I can do this dad." She was a defiant little shit, he'd give her that. But it truly did come by naturally. He had even told the Brass to fuck off in person after they insisted on making him a Commander.

Shepard looked at her and smirked, crossing his arms as he waited. "So you're going to carry that all the way back to the house without letting it touch the ground?"

His daughter grunted, "Don't let me fall, dad."

Shepard smiled, "Only if you don't drop the apples."

_June's going to kill me._

Little Shepard's arms were so tense, he thought her veins were going to pop out. He walked behind her as she slowly stepped down the hill. The grass gave her traction, allowing slower, more precise steps.

"Ugh." Her biotics wavered, her knees bending, but she kept the basket afloat. She took a deep breath and started running, pushing the basket forward.

Shepard called his daughter's name, but she ignored him and kept running towards the house.

"You're going to run out of energy!"

She was shaking sporadically, her biotic energy dying out then flaring alive again. Her emerald eyes met the eyes of her mother as she stood outside in their garden. She tripped over a rock mid-stride, and Shepard grabbed her arm and the basket went flying.

"Honey!" June's biotics flared as she grabbed the basket and brought it towards her. She set it on the porch and walked towards her husband and daughter.

Shepard's grip on her arm tightened, "What the hell were you trying to do, young lady?"

She smiled, blood running down her nose, "Trying," she took a breath, "to prove you wrong, dad."

June placed her hands on her hips and looked analytically at her husband, her mouth in a line.

Shepard sighed, releasing his grip on his daughter and handing her to his wife, "Clean her up, June. She has school in an hour."

His wife glared at him for a minute longer, then she grabbed a cloth from her pocket and placed it on her daughter's nose.

Shepard began walking inside, ignoring the tears in his daughter's eyes.

* * *

_Palaven, 2170_

Tarok woke his son up early. It was four A.M.

"Son, today's the day."

Garrus scoffed as he sat up on his bed. "Thanks for the happy fifteenth birthday, dad."

The elder turian narrowed his eyes, "Cut the crap, son. You know you start bootcamp today."

Garrus sighed and got out of bed, slipping his boots over his feet. "I know, dad."

Tarok smiled briefly, "Maybe your mother will agree to letting you have your first drink tonight in celebration."

Garrus' mandibles twitched, his eyebrow plates raising in anticipation, "Really?"

His father shrugged, handing him a pistol. "It all depends on how well you do in training today, son."

Garrus nodded, "Yes sir."

"Now get some breakfast in you. You're to report to Officer Handrick by the main building of the academy at 0530 hours." Without another word, Tarok left his son's bedroom.

The young turian sighed. _Great. Today's your big day, Vakarian. Hopefully you don't screw it up._

Garrus walked out of his room, down the hall and towards the bathroom door. Solana always locked it.

"Come on Sol. I have to get ready."

He heard the shower turn on and he sighed.

After standing there for a few more minutes, he gave up and walked to the dining room.

"Good morning, Garrus." His mother Telva smiled as she placed a plate on the table. "Would you like your first cup of coffee this morning?"

Garrus smiled and nodded, "Thank you, mother."

His mother hummed lightly as Tarok walked into the room, dressed in his dark navy C-Sec armor. He looked at Garrus as he ate, sipping his own coffee.

Garrus took his first sip of black coffee and could barely swallow it. It went down his throat like acid.

He blanched and looked at his mother, who looked at his father and smiled.

She walked to the refrigerator. "Cream and sugar, Garrus?"

The young turian nodded, "Please."

Telva grinned and handed him a cup and cube.

Garrus gently grabbed the cup and poured a large amount in his coffee, added the cube and stirred lightly.

He took another sip and nodded appreciatively, "Thank you mother. This coffee tastes much better."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I'd like to thank my new beta reader, Credete, for helping me with this. I plan on continuing this, but the process will be slow so don't expect immediate updates.

Please review if you enjoyed it.

Review even if you didn't.

I'd like as much feedback as possible on this story. This is something completely foreign to write about for me. The origins of characters are left to the creators, but being that you basically create your character in the Mass Effect series and you were given very little insight on the childhood of what you chose, I felt it was something that needed exploration.

Also, a note, I purposely am omitting Shepard's father's name. I feel that is up to the reader to fill. So please let me know if it is confusing to whom I'm referring; the father or daughter.

Thank you for reading.

_BrokenEmber_


	2. Cheerleaders and Cigars

June handed her their red skycar's keys. The young Shepard's green eyes lit up, "Are you sure mom?"

The older woman rolled her eyes, "Sweetie, you're a sixteen year old girl. You've passed your driving test already with our neighbor Mr. Fidley. Your father and I are just going to stay home today... and talk."

Shepard stepped out into the garage and looked at his daughter and wife, "Yes, it's fine if you drive to school today, sweetheart."

Her body glowed with a biotic barrier as she hugged her parents.

"Remember to keep your biotics in check," Shepard mumbled against her ear.

The teenage girl nodded, pushing her hair behind her ears as she took a deep breath. Her barrier released and she smiled brightly at her father.

"With the new policies now with the schools... well, we'd get in trouble for withholding your biotic ability, hun," June explained, gripping her husband's hand.

Shepard nodded, "Yes, I'd even get in trouble with the Alliance for not listing you on their systems on your sixteenth birthday."

Their daughter nodded in understanding, "I understand, dad." She pulled her omni-tool up, "Oh crap, I need to leave now." She kissed them both on the cheek.

Shepard opened the door for her and she slipped in.

June crossed her arms, "And no omni-tool! If I find out you were using it in class again, I'll take it away for a month!"

"Bye mom! Bye dad!" She pushed the keys in, flipped the switch, and flew off.

"Think we'll ever hear the end of this?" June muttered, looking at her husband.

"Probably not, June. Probably not."

* * *

Garrus grudgingly walked towards Officer Hendrick and saluted him.

The elder turian with white facial markings and gray eyes smirked, "You're Tarok Vakarian's son?"

Garrus nodded, "His only son, sir."

"It's Officer Hendrick, Vakarian," he pulled up his omni-tool to check his records. "Says you got straight A's in school, Garrus. Your biophysics teacher said you had, 'great promise to serve his homeworld and protect the Citadel'." His steel gray eyes narrowed at Garrus, "Would you say that's an accurate description?"

Garrus straightened, placing his talons behind his back as he nodded, "Yes, Officer Hendrick, I would."

Hendrick smiled, reached into his pouch and pulled out a turian cigar and slipped it in his mouth before lighting it. He inhaled and exhaled a puff of smoke in Garrus's face.

"Good."

* * *

Shepard parked the skycar in her spot and turned off the engine. Grabbing her small black backpack, she slipped out of the car and slammed the door shut. She locked the car with her omni-tool and began walking to the main academy.

Her first hour was physical education and she hated it. She hated doing pushups, pullups, lunges, and jumping jacks. She hated lifting weights and being forced to run with her class. What she hated most was the hand-to-hand combat they had to perform. She hated hurting people almost as much as she hated blood. Blood didn't fit in with her intelligence. She could solve math problems in her head; her photographic memory proved useful as she answered questions in her Asari Literature class.

Shepard sighed and walked into the gymnasium locker-room. An asari and female human were kissing in the corner and she stopped in her tracks.  
It was so fucking... awkward. She shook her head and found her locker number, 007. She pulled her omni-tool up, unlocked it, and grabbed her sweats and hoodie. The black uniform was incredibly lightweight, but very comfortable to move in. She slipped her jeans and shirt off and placed them in the locker. Quickly and quietly, she slid into her gym clothes and tennis shoes.

After releasing a deep sigh, she walked towards the exit of the locker room only to find her worst enemy leaning in the doorway.

Bianca Morway. Her long brunette hair, brown eyes and tanned Californian skin made her eye-candy to the guys in her grade. Head cheerleader with an IQ of a five year old, Shepard was able to skirt around her insults and drop her like an atom bomb with just her words.

Bianca had never become physical; she usually just glared at Shepard hoping to crush her.

_Fucking excellent._

Shepard crossed her arms, "Mind moving an inch or two so I can slip by?"

The cocky cheerleader laughed, looking at her blonde minions and popped her pink bubblegum.

"Not today, Shepard."

The ebony haired girl sighed and placed her hair in a ponytail before rolling her neck around and leaning against the locker.

"So what, you're going to beat me up in the locker room?"

Bianca's laugh was poisonously horrendous, "Something like that, you little bitch. You think you're better than me, don't you?"

Shepard smirked, narrowing her eyes, "I know I'm better than you."

Bianca's mouth opened in shock and she narrowed her eyes as she threw the first punch.

Right in the jaw, another in the stomach.

Shepard fell to the floor, spitting the blood from her mouth. She grunted and slowly stood up.

The cheerleader laughed and tried to throw another punch. Shepard grabbed her fist and began twisting, twisting, twisting.

Bianca pulled out of her grip and punched her again, this time in the nose.

"Jesus, Shepard. You'd think with an ex-military father you'd know how to fight. Or maybe your dad quit because he's as big of a pussy that you are."

Before Shepard could summon her biotics, her coach Mr. Tyusus walked into the locker room.

"Morway, back off." Tyusus placed an arm between them, "This will not continue. Are we clear?"

Shepard narrowed her eyes to slits, her tone like acid, "Crystal, coach."

Tyusus looked at the brunette.

Bianca smirked, "Clear as rain, coach."

After the coach left, Bianca stepped towards Shepard and whispered menacingly in her ear, "We will settle this later."

Shepard spoke vehemently, "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

**A/N: **So, there's chapter two. Please review your honest opinions. :D

_BrokenEmber_


	3. Yellow Eyes and Vaenia

Garrus walked into a large white room with a dark blue ceiling and wooden floors and saw ten other turians standing in a horizontal line. He joined them and stood there, blue eyes surveying the room with his talons behind his back.

He took a deep breath when Officer Hendrick walked into the room. Hendrick narrowed his eyes and looked at the eleven young turians standing there.

"So, you're the best and brightest on this part of Palaven?"

No answer and Hendrick smirked.

"It sure doesn't seem like it! Are you the best and brightest on this part of Palaven!?"

"Yes sir!" They all answered in unison.

"Get on the floor and give me fifty pushups!" Hendrick barked, chewing his cigar.

_Great. Today's the beginning of the rest of your life, Vakarian._

* * *

Shepard walked to her locker and pulled her omni-tool up. She sent a quick message to her mom:  
_**Hey mom, in passing period. Just wanted to say hey. I love you.**_

She quickly exited out of the messaging program and unlocked her locker. Next class, Asari Literature. Then Calculus. Then lunch, and Galactic History ended her day.

She grabbed her three books and slipped them in her backpack. Bianca was walking by with her posse and slammed into Shepard's shoulder.

Shepard sighed and turned towards her, placing her hands on her hips, "Listen, what the fuck is your problem?"

Bianca scoffed, "You. You're my problem. You're a little farmer brat that thinks her shit don't stink."

Shepard blinked her bright green eyes and raised an eyebrow, "We talked during summer camp on Feros. You had lunch with me every day for a week, and then you suddenly stopped giving a shit. How have I threatened you so much that you have to be a royal bitch to me?"

The brunette shrugged and began walking away, "We'll figure that out during lunch. You better be there, Shepard."

"Whatever, Bianca. Don't trip in your heels and land in that shit you're spouting." The bell rang. Shepard grabbed her backpack and walked to her Literature class that was down the hall.

* * *

Garrus sighed and chewed silently on his nutrition bar. The class was given a five minute break between exercises and he fully reveled in it. This was tough work. His father always told him the work was hard and he had planned accordingly, but the next exercise was full-on sparring. Sparring. In training.

_Someone could get killed_, he thought distastefully, swallowing the last bite of the bar. A turian with light blue face paint and bright yellow eyes sat next to him.

Garrus blinked and looked at the new turian silently.

"Lantar Sidonis," the turian extended his talon.

"Garrus Vakarian," a small, casual shake between the two signified a form of cautious respect.

"First day going well so far?" Sidonis asked numbly.

Garrus smirked, "I guess so. What about you?"

"Me?" Sidonis smiled sardonically, "I'm just waiting."

* * *

Asari Literature went by smoothly. The class consisted of watching Vaenia while reading the script. The script was a heaping eighty-thousand lines and they were expected to write a report within a week that was at least fifteen thousand words in length. The asari teacher, Ms. Valerie, was insane.

Shepard was the only student that did her work, but was left with a B average. Very few students passed because Ms. Valerie was sexist. She liked the boys and other asari, but not the human females.

Shepard rolled her shoulders back and took a deep breath as the bell rang again.

"Oh, Miss Shepard, please stay after class."

_Ugh._

Shepard heard the other students snicker as they walked past.

Her teacher was young for an asari, only one-hundred years, but her personality made her seem like a matriarch.

"Yes, Ms. Valerie?"

The asari smiled sweetly, "I just wanted to congratulate you on your excellent essay on the asari homeworld, Thessia. It was well written and cohesive."

Shepard blinked as her teacher handed her the paper.

100% circled in blue ink.

"Also, writing it on paper was a plus. I haven't read anything that wasn't on a datapad in over twenty years. It was... refreshing."

Shepard smiled, "Thank you, ma'am." She opened her backpack and slipped the paper in between pages of her textbook and zipped it up.

"That's all, Shepard. Go on to class now."


	4. Chicken-shit

Calculus went by smoothly. Shepard finished most of her homework in class and was left with only a handful of problems to complete. She sighed and downloaded the assignment on her omni-tool, reminding herself to do it at 3 P.M. She was the head of her class because she could remember nearly everything she read.

Photographic memory proved severely useful.

She ran a checklist in her head;

_Asari Literature report, Calculus homework.  
_  
Galactic History was stupid because her teacher ranted and raved about the Protheans and tried to prove that they created the Egyptian pyramids on Earth.

Shepard rolled her eyes at the thought and the bell rang, signaling lunch.

_Ugh. Bianca._

With a heavy sigh, she stepped out of the classroom and walked to the cafeteria, mumbling curses about how much she hated brunettes.

* * *

Garrus was the target.

Literally.

The other turians took aim and fired.

He had never calibrated his shields so quickly. Now, he had practiced a few times at home when his father would force him to pay attention to what a, "good turian does."

He hid behind a simulated boulder. The bullets were also simulated, but it still didn't make the threat any less real.

This was their long range practice; him.

He quickly looked over his shoulder, mumbling something in turian and rolled hastily to new cover.

"Vakarian! Excellent cover roll! But you still have ten enemy soldiers firing at you!" Hendrick barked, chewing on his cigar as he pulled his omni-tool up, "You have five rounds in your sniper rifle and two in your pistol. How will you proceed?"

Garrus pulled his omni-tool out and typed in a code, firing out an electric shock that fried the firing mechanisms and thermal clips of the simulated weapons. He then broke out of cover and fired one round, then another, then another until all five were fired.

Five soldiers were "down" but that still left five with two rounds in his pistol.

He threw his sniper rifle on the ground and the five soldiers fired at him. He ducked and rolled, dodging the shots, throwing one turian to the ground and kicking him.

Another came at him with the butt of his assault rifle headed for his face. Garrus sidestepped him and twisted the assault rifle out of his hand and fired. The turian fell.

Three left, he counted in his head.

He aimed and pulled the trigger, but no rounds came out. He growled and flipped the gun around, running towards another turian. He defeated him easily and one of the last two pulled his omni-tool out, sending out a shield drain.

Garrus stumbled, weakened, but pressed a button on his omni-tool and recharged his shields.

He growled and ran towards the turian, throwing the empty assault rifle to the side and tackled him.

The turian on the ground wrapped his legs around him and twisted him off, landing on top. He picked Garrus up easily and pushed him against a wall.  
Garrus growled and twisted his body in the right angle where he'd have the upper hand and slipped out of the other turian's arms. He got behind him and punched him in the back. The turian crumbled, whimpering.

He felt the cool touch of a pistol against his head.

"Bang." A calm voice said.

Panting and sweating, he turned around and stared into the bright yellow eyes of Sidonis.

He wiped his mouth and nodded at him, "You were in my blind spot."

Sidonis smirked, "If that were real, you'd be dead by now."

Garrus frowned, and Hendrick threw him a towel while helping the other turians up.

"Hit the showers, soldiers. Your first day of training is over," he spat out the dead end of the cigar and lit another before leaving the room.

Garrus looked at Sidonis, and Sidonis looked at Garrus.

The mischievous glint in their eyes spoke it all.

They were going to become really good enemies.

* * *

Shepard glanced at her omni-tool as she waited in line for her food. Lunch would be over in about six minutes. She sighed and turned the holographic display off and left the line. Bianca walked towards her, brunette hair flowing down her back, bubble-gum popping in her mouth.

"Shepard, I told you we'd settle this during lunch."

Shepard narrowed her eyes, tightening her fist.

The other girl laughed, "I've hated you since I first saw you."

"Trust me, I wish the feeling was mutual, Bianca, but you're not worth the effort to hate you."

A crowd gathered. They always do. Shepard sighed, taking a step back.

"I don't want to fight you, Bianca."

Bianca scoffed and removed her heels and jacket, standing now at Shepard's height. "Chicken-shit." Shepard sighed and pushed her hair back into a pony-tail and stood in a defensive pose.

The brunette threw the first swing, which Shepard dodged cautiously. She danced around Bianca, step by step until she had her cornered. It was quick and easy but the girl was expecting it. Bianca slipped out from underneath Shepard and pinned her to the ground. Her black pony-tail was in her hand and Shepard growled, glowing with biotic energy.

Bianca stepped back, the crowd was practically on the walls out of fear.

The blue energy was nearly white.

Shepard screamed and stormed towards her, fist glowing. She punched her in the jaw with such force the girl flew back five feet.

Shepard sighed, unhooked her pony-tail and began walking out of the lunch room when an asari security guard stopped her, placed her hands behind her back, wrapping a stasis around her wrists. Shepard rolled her eyes and began walking blankly towards the principal's office when the alarm went off.

Not a fire-drill alarm, not an earthquake, biotic or gun-drill. The only noise that it resembled was the resonance of a batarian attack.

* * *

**A/N: **That is Chapter Four. I would **_love_** feedback. Do you guys like the direction this story is going? Please give me input and tell me what you like, what you don't like. This will be my last update for a while, being that Chapter 5 has the most action in it. (So far, I mean.)

I know the progress is slow; it's still the first day, but I'm putting as much detail as I possibly can into this. Please, tell me what you think.

Oh and a side note, would anyone like to **draw a cover** for this? I'll post ideas for a cover on my profile page, but please PM me if you are interested. I'll write you something (Mass Effect related, of course).

The site says this: "For the best image quality and to avoid distortions you must submit images with a 6/9 width to height ratio with dimensions of 300(W)x450(H) or larger. Do not submit square images as they will be cropped." So please, if you are interested, follow those guidelines because a friend of mine drew me a cover that I couldn't use because it didn't fit.


	5. Instantaneous and Intrepid

**Warning: ****This chapter is really intense and contains an rape scene. **You do not have to read it if that's not your thing. This is rated M though.

Thank you.

_BrokenEmber_

* * *

Shepard used warp to break out of the stasis handcuffs, and looked at the asari. The purple-toned asari with silver eyes pulled up her omni-tool, "Front office, this is Reya. Please confirm this is not a drill."

Shepard peered behind her at the football field by the cafeteria. She looked at the asari, then back to the field. A ship was slowly landing and she spotted a nearby trashcan.

"Come on!" She grabbed the asari and began rushing down the stairs. She threw up her barrier as she hopped into the large green container, holding her breath.

Everything her father had told her about safety made sense. _Your first reaction is to run, but that singles you out and makes you even a bigger target. Do not run away. Hide and play dead until it's safe.  
_  
She thought about the location of the parking lot in comparison to the trashcan she was in. It was about a half mile west, and the ship had landed in the east.  
The kids wouldn't know what to do. She was different. Her father taught her to be smart and safe.

His words repeated in her head. _Batarians are the ugliest bastards, sweetie. You will know when you see one because they'll look at you with more than one pair of eyes.  
_  
She looked at the asari Reya and released a small, quiet breath.

Reya unlocked her omni-tool and read a message from the front office.

Shepard pulled her omni-tool up and muted it before Reya synched them together.

The message read as follows:  
**Students and faculty,  
**This is not a drill. Batarian slavers are here. You know the drill and you know where to meet. Be there in five minutes, but be careful. **  
Principal Stan Mitchum.  
**_  
_The meeting place was a bomb shelter underneath the gym. Each student knew the code to the bunker, but it had only been used for drills. In a panicked state, a hundred teenagers in a room together wouldn't end well.

Shepard wanted to distance herself as much as possible. The asari lifted the trashcan lid about a centimeter to peek out. It appeared clear.  
"I have to get back to the students," she whispered, "You need to stay with me. I will keep you safe. You're a biotic. Do not use them unless you know you can win."

The human girl nodded, her green eyes calculating. She ended up liking this asari guard, even though she was going to take her to the principal about eight minutes earlier.

The asari jumped out, then lifted the lid and helped Shepard out.

Shepard looked around her, then the asari grabbed her arm and began rushing back towards the cafeteria.

She and the asari crouched low underneath the window, then Shepard quickly looked inside.

She spotted a human guard in there but the asari shook her head and pointed to the left.

A batarian stood there, pointing a pistol at the guard. The students in the cafeteria were crouched on the ground, hands over their heads, waiting.

A jock named Rick screamed and aimed to punch the batarian. The batarian shot him quickly and cleanly, then shot the security guard and aimed his gun to shoot the students.

The asari spoke in her ear, "Run to the bunker. Use your biotics. Stay hidden. Stay safe."

Shepard nodded as the asari punched through the window with a warp, then threw a stasis at the batarian faster than lightning.

She lifted him and flung him against the wall, crushing his skull instantly.

A door opened.

Reya looked at the other entrance to the cafeteria and before she could react, she was shot between the eyes by a sniper.

Shepard placed her fist to her mouth, silently screaming with unshed tears in her eyes.

The batarian began walking towards the window.

She gasped silently for air as she stumbled and began crawling until she reached the end of the stairs. She jumped down and slipped underneath the stairwell, leaning all the way against the wall when she heard the door open above her. She held her breath.

The batarian sniffed and growled, "I thought I smelt a fucking human. Must have gotten away." He sighed and walked back inside the cafeteria.

Shepard heard him say, "The males and females need to separate into two lines. Now."

She heard shuffling then released her breath and sent a message to her mom.  
_**I'm going to try to get home.  
**_  
She knew she couldn't get to her car. She wouldn't be able to drive it home anyway, especially if this was a full on invasion.

Shepard was honestly at her wits end. She took a deep breath and looked behind her. The door was closed. She didn't hear any foot steps. She could get away.

Should she get to the bunker? It seemed so far.

She heard a gun go off inside the cafeteria. Screams.

Closing her eyes, she knew she had to get away. Far away. Away from those with guns. Oh, how she wished she knew how to fire a weapon. Her dad was going to teach her on her eighteenth birthday. Stupid gun law on Mindior...

She shook her head. No, no. Escape.

Escape only comes to those who wait, but if she waited any longer, she would get caught and get murdered.

She did the one thing she wasn't supposed to.

She ran.

She ran until she was at the front office nearly a mile from the cafeteria, and she desperately wished she was an athlete.

The taste of metal and mucus coated her tongue as she ran up the hill. Her lungs shook, her knees wanting to buckle but she refused to stop running. Her house... her house was so far from this hill. She stopped running and looked back at the school.

It was on fire.

The screams were terrible. They perpetrated her eardrums and she covered her ears. She could still hear.

She wanted to run away, but found she couldn't move. The screams filled the air, the cries thick in her ears like a glob of blood. The flames danced in front of her eyes; they were mesmerizing and haunting.

Shepard's cheeks were wet with tears, her body slowly going into shock. She couldn't stop. She recognized it, she felt her limbs fall numb but she knew if she stayed in an open field, she would be seen. She had to get home.

Home.

Her mother would be killing batarians right now, ripping their heads off with her biotics, and her dad would be shooting them while laughing and drinking whiskey.

She slapped her face to wake herself up and began running again.

* * *

Shepard reached the center of the colony after twenty minutes. The alarms were being blasted over the loudspeakers along with the announcement: "Alliance patrols will be here in thirty minutes. Alliance patrols will be here in twenty nine minutes."

_The batarians have to be leaving now. Why would they want to get arrested?_

She still kept quiet. She made sure her shoes were tied and her hair was down; a pony-tail made it easier to pull and drag down.

She had fallen and scraped her knee and it stung, but she ignored it.

Two miles to go until the Shepard farm. Two miles and twenty eight minutes until she was free to rest. Fuck, she was tired. She was so tired. She had stayed up until three in the morning the night before to finish homework. It seemed so stupid now. She was sixteen and she had spent so much of her fucking time in school instead of at home with her family.

Shepard walked quickly through town, the dead bodies of her neighbors, the pharmacist, and the family doctor littered the streets like garbage. She closed her eyes in reverence as she bowed her head.

Twenty minutes remained on the countdown and she desperately wished she were in her parents' arms. She was on the home stretch. She felt as if she could collapse from exhaustion at any moment, but she had to keep moving. She couldn't stop now.

On the outskirts of town, she saw five children lined up.

There were two batarians lining up to shoot them in front of her.

Without thinking, she reared a biotic lift to fling a batarian into the other. The other batarian tried to shoot her, but she threw a singularity at him. She had never used a singularity before. The energy that emerged from her palm frightened her, but she knew she had to kill him. She threw a warp and the singularity exploded. Nothing was left of the batarian.

Blood poured down her nose and she wiped it numbly as she looked at the five children.

They cried and hugged her but Shepard shook her head and brought her finger to her mouth.

"Shh."

They nodded, wiping their faces. A little blonde girl with a doll in her hands smiled at her and Shepard smiled weakly back.

"What I want you all to do is stay together and wait until the Alliance soldiers come. They will be human in blue uniforms with a white emblem on them. They will protect you."

They blinked their big round eyes, nodding.

"You know how your dogs play dead?"

Another nod.

She smiled lightly but said with a dark, serious tone, "Well, play dead like them if you hear or see another monster coming. Do not breathe, do not move. Stay still and wait until they leave before moving again."

They hugged her and thanked her and the blonde girl asked for her name.

She hugged her and whispered her name before turning towards her farm.

Fifteen minutes left on the loudspeaker. She and her family could pack what they needed and be out in five.

As she walked up the hill to her farm, she saw no batarian patrols in sight. She breathed a sigh of relief and ran down the hill until she reached the front door.

"Mom! Dad! Are you-"

A single batarian stood in their kitchen. He had black and yellow striped pigmentation with light green facial ridges. Her father and mother were on their knees, hands on their heads.

Shepard glowed with biotic energy and the batarian lifted a pistol and placed it against her father's temple.

She calmed her biotics and looked into her mother's beautiful green eyes.

The batarian charged the girl and her father stood and pulled his concealed pistol out and aimed.

The batarian shot her father in the head.

Shepard screamed and lifted a glowing fist to the batarian as he shot her mother in the stomach. She revved up to punch him but he grabbed her wrist and flung her over him.

"You are a fiesty little human," he growled as he threw her onto the floor. Shepard gasped for air, the force of the fall knocking the air from her lungs.

Her mother lay on the floor next to her, facing the wall, breathing shallowly.

"If you resist, I will kill your mother and sell you into slavery like the other humans."

He slipped his pants off and cut her shirt and pants with a knife.

Shepard whimpered and he placed the knife on her mouth. He sliced across her lips and the blood poured into her mouth. The salty tears burned the cut like acid.

He grabbed both her hands and placed them above her head, holding her wrists together. He pushed her legs apart and grabbed his member and thrust into her.

The pain of a foreign entity breaking her hymen while dry was excruciating. He pulled out and thrust again. She cried out in anguish.

"Shut up, you whore!" He slapped her across the face with the knife.

Shepard couldn't breathe.

She tried to use her biotics, tried to use a shockwave to get him off of her, but she couldn't. She was powerless, weak.

She closed her eyes and thought of when she was younger. She was five years old at her grandmother's house on the other side of Mindior, watching the vid-screen cartoons while her grandmother made hot chocolate the day her puppy Ruby died. Grandmother Shepard had died later that year from breast cancer, but she always remembered how good that hot chocolate was.

She learned later on that her grandmother's secret ingredient was butter.

That memory always brought her peace.

The batarian finally finished inside her and she looked at him. She began crying again and he slapped her. He grunted, zipped his pants up and left the house.

She touched her cheek and cried again.

Shepard looked at her torn underwear and pants and looked at her mother's barely moving form.

Shakily, she crawled towards her mother and moved in front of her. She reached for her hand.

Her mother smiled at her as she gripped her hand, "Use your biotics. Never hold back. Never.. surrender. I love you, so much.."

She kissed her hand and exhaled her last breath.

Shepard's body was shaking, her eyes filled with tears.

She hugged her mother's unmoving body and she decided that that was the last time she would ever cry.

* * *

A/N: This is Chapter Five. Please, give me honest feedback. I am still wanting a cover for this. There are ideas on my profile page. Please PM if you are interested.

Thank you for reading and please review!

_BrokenEmber_


	6. Father and Son

Garrus sat at the smooth silver lunch table with a bowl of soup and a bottle of water. It was finally lunch time after hours of rigorous training, and he was enjoying the silence in the cafeteria. Each of the ten turians sat by themselves, tending to their bruises with clumsy fingers. He had thought that perhaps Officer Hendrick wasn't the only trainer, but it appeared he was wrong, as there was a lack of student populous.

He narrowed his blue eyes and rubbed absentmindedly at his left talon as he scooped a spoonful of soup. It had needed a bandage after Sidonis "accidentally" threw a large rock directly at him. Thankfully the force of the throw wasn't too strong because nothing was broken.

He sighed and pulled up his omni-tool, writing data for his father to review. He was a natural with tech, that much was certain.  
He just knew he had to practice more, then perhaps one day, he'd be able to get into the turian military.  
Garrus smiled to himself; he just had to practice his aim first.  
He threw the empty bowl away and approached his officer.

He saluted him, "Officer Hendrick, sir, I'd like to request permission with long range target practice using a sniper rifle."  
Hendrick grinned at him, his gray eyes narrowing, "Sniper rifles, huh?"  
Garrus nodded.  
"Why, Vakarian?"  
Garrus blinked, placing his talons behind his back, "I've always been fascinated with snipers, sir."  
Hendrick lit a cigar and inhaled deeply before replying with a ring of smoke, "I'll start you off with an easy model and boost you up to almost Spectre gear, if you get good enough."  
_Spectres?  
_Garrus just nodded. He had never heard of a Spectre. He wondered if his father could explain it to him.

* * *

Garrus walked through the door, only to see his father standing directly by the doorway, waiting.

"Son."

"Father." Garrus nodded, straightening his back.

"Officer Hendrick messaged me on your progress."

Tarok walked towards his son, his features unreadable. Garrus blinked, tingling in anticipation.

His father grinned, his mouth curving slightly, "You did very well today, Garrus. He also told me you were interested in sniper rifles." He gestured his son to follow as he walked to their garage.

"I analyze data for C-Sec now, but when I was in the turian military before I met your mother, I was a sniper." He smiled, sighing exasperatedly, "I was the one to wait for two days to hit a target. I actually used to be very good with my aim." He frowned slightly, opening their garage door.

Garrus had never seen his father in such good... spirits. He almost wanted to laugh, but knew that would be inappropriate and would completely ruin the moment.  
He blinked as he walked inside the garage and his father reached atop a shelf.

Garrus was handed a large case with the word, "Widow" on it. He looked up at his father, "Father, Officer Hendrick mentioned Spectre gear. What does that... entail?"

Tarok frowned deeply at the mention of Spectres and shook his head, "It's something I don't want you to ever get involved in. Spectres have no rules, no guidelines, no stability. You can't give anyone free reign to do whatever the hell they want, son." He sighed, "That's why I'm in C-Sec. There's rules and regulations for a reason, Garrus. It keeps the galaxy in order."

Garrus nodded.

He didn't understand why, but he longed for the lack of red-tape. The lack of rules. Granted, everything needed some form of structure, but to be able to bypass the chain of command to get what _you _needed done? He felt the shiver of a thrill run across his skin.

He looked at his father tentatively and moved to place the Widow case back. Tarok placed a talon on his arm and shook his head.

"I want you to have it son, for when you get good at sniping."

Garrus blinked, "What makes you think I'll be a sniper?"

Tarok shrugged, moving to their garage door and placing a talon on the doorknob, "You're a Vakarian, Garrus." He seemed to smile, then opened the door and walked back into the house.

* * *

The next morning went by smoothly. Garrus woke up before his alarm and made breakfast for himself before anyone else was up. He placed the sniper rifle on the kitchen table and poured his father's coffee. Tarok walked into the room as Garrus was pouring and nodded appreciatively at his son.  
"You have to leave in ten minutes."  
Garrus nodded, "I know. I'll be ready." He grabbed an energy bar and took a bite, chasing it with a sip of coffee. "I just need to eat first."  
His father nodded, sipping his coffee.  
Garrus looked at him blankly.  
Tarok silently spit the coffee back out and walked to the counter and poured another sugar.

* * *

Garrus approached the training building and nodded at Hendrick.

"Good morning, sir."

"Good morning Vakarian. Did you talk to your father about sniper training?"

The younger turian nodded. "He approved, actually."

Hendrick smiled, "Today you'll have separate training with our best sniper."

When Garrus walked into the long range shooting arena, he saw his father there.

Tarok nodded, "I'm here to train you today, Garrus."

Garrus smiled, "Hendrick told me the best sniper was training me, dad."

Tarok laughed and pressed a button on his omni-tool, picked the sniper rifle up and aimed.

Four holographic krogan appeared in the room, about twenty meters ahead, and Tarok fired a total of six rounds and the krogan, "died."

Garrus blinked and rubbed the back of his neck.

Tarok turned toward him, "Your old man still has it, Garrus. Come on. This is how you hold the gun..."

* * *

**A/N: **I am sorry this took so long. I was having computer trouble and was unable to access my computer at all. I do not plan on taking that big of a break anytime soon and will try to update regularly.

I am still looking for a cover picture for this story, so if you are interested, please let me know. :)

Please review.

Adieu.

_BrokenEmber_


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